Weekly Reflection 2/28/23

“And when they had prayed…” Gospel reflection to go along with the message on Sunday, 2/26/23

Acts 4

Three Statements

1.  “…And they recognized that they had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13)

2.  “For we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:20)

3.  “And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.” (Acts 4:33)

How do we live lives where these statements would be true of us?

• Do we just pretend like they’re true? Should we just assume they’re true? No.

• Do we need to work harder, try harder? No.

• Pray the prayer this church prayed? Yes.

Five reasons to pray this prayer in Acts 4:

1. The answer (Acts 4:31)

a.  We need extraordinary enabling by the Holy Spirit in our lives and the life of the church.

b.  We always need this answer no matter how good or how poor we feel we are doing.

2. Who prayed (Acts 4:23)

a.  Who are these “friends”? It simply means family, friends, close associates and neighbors.

b.  It’s the local church. All who believe are qualified to pray this prayer.

3. The same God (Acts 4:24-28)

a.  They know that if God created everything on earth, sea and heaven- then these elders and priests are His property and He can do with them as He pleases.

b.  The Spirit of God is the Spirit of truth.

• We cannot twist or compromise or change what is written in the Word of God and still expect to receive His power working in us and through us.

• If you are a stranger to the Word and prayer then I am confident that you are a stranger to Holy Spirit power in your life.

4. The reason (Acts 4:18, 29)

a.  The reason for this prayer was that they had been threatened to stop speaking and teaching in the name of Jesus.

b.  They had a jealousy for the uncompromised Gospel and did not want persecution or threats to cause them to compromise the truth.

5. The request (Acts 4:29-30)

a.  The first request is “God look. Here is why you should help us: their threats are against your Son Jesus’ reputation.”

b.  They ask for boldness, that God would heal and that signs and wonders would happen.

c.   They did not ask for the circumstances to be changed.

d.  They desire to be empowered in such a way that the name of Jesus would be glorified and worshipped.

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